Gustavo Petro has accused the US-led bloc’s leaders of supporting “genocide” in Gaza
Colombia should reduce ties with NATO because the leaders of the navy bloc help “genocide” of Palestinians, President Gustavo Petro has declared.
Colombia, a standard US ally in South America, turned the primary nation within the area to acquire the standing of NATO world accomplice in 2017. Petro, who took workplace in 2022 as Colombia’s first leftist president, severed diplomatic relations with Israel final 12 months over what he describes as a genocide being carried out by the Israeli authorities towards Palestinians.
”What can we do in NATO? If NATO’s high brass are for genocide, what are we doing there?” Petro mentioned at a pro-Palestinian worldwide convention in Bogota on Wednesday.
”Hasn’t the time come for one more navy alliance? As a result of how can we be with armies that drop bombs on kids?” he added. “These armies aren’t armies of freedom, they’re armies of darkness. We will need to have armies of sunshine.”
Petro argued that NATO is a Chilly Conflict relic and asserted that nations like Colombia are handled as “half-members” throughout the US-led navy bloc, granted symbolic partnerships however not full accession.
The 2-day convention in Bogota hosted representatives from a dozen international locations within the International South. Attendees signed a joint declaration calling for financial sanctions and authorized actions towards Israel, together with an arms embargo, restrictions on dual-use items, port denials for vessels carrying cargo for Israeli forces, and help for worldwide accountability for crimes allegedly dedicated in occupied territories.
Petro’s criticism displays a break from Colombia’s traditionally heat relationship with Israel. The late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as soon as dubbed Colombia the “Israel of Latin America,” arguing it served the same geopolitical position within the area.
Israel launched its navy marketing campaign in Gaza following a lethal raid led by the militant group Hamas in October 2023. The primary unbiased research of casualties in Gaza, printed final month, estimated the variety of fatalities within the enclave at nearly 84,000 by January 2025. Israel is presently pushing Palestinians to maneuver to a “humanitarian metropolis” that may purportedly be freed from Hamas affect – which critics say is only a euphemism for a focus camp.
